Saturday, April 21, 2012

Only just released a couple of years ago, this series of erotic books and its author, is already being touted as being the next big thing, next to such names as Meyer and Rowling. So who is this author, and why does she have so many women's panties in a twist?

EL James is a British housewife that's turned author and literary sensation in a blink of an eye, and I'm not exactly sure why. From a self-proclaimed freshman author who began her celebrity as a fan-fiction writer, with little experience other than being a devoted reader of the ever popular Twilight books. I recently took a moment to sample her first book, which I found poorly written/edited and trite, yet impressively addictive and hard to put down.

The first book sets the stage in this melodramatic-romantic pseudo S&M series. The book wasn't as bad as I first imagined it to be, when reading through the first couple of chapters. It took some time to adjust to the author's style or the lack thereof. And while the story isn't at all that fresh, and it rather unabashedly steals from many sources -Twilight, Pride and Prejudice, maybe even Fever's JB, it's still a decent read. It's a quick read and kept me interested until the very end, and the romance was definitely hot. With all honesty, that's probably why it has garnered so much attention.

I do appreciate that the protagonist is not some silly love-struck girl, without a confident bone in her body. She doesn't allow Mr. Fifty Shades boss her completely around, and she has hard/soft limits as well. Mr. Fifty Shades is as screwed up as you can get, even while being outwardly perfect. His personality, humor, and issues, somewhat remind me of Fever's elusive and enigmatic JB.

Now for the bad. I think the main problem with this author's writing style is her weak 1st person voice. It's somewhat reminiscent to a baser/animistic halting thought process, like we get when a author writes about a character's less than humanoid side. And while I still think the woman is just a mediocre writer that is still trying to find her bearings, I do think that it is more of her writing style that I initially had issues with. It would also behoove her to hire a editor and maybe try writing in 3rd person. There's definitely mistakes throughout.

My other issue is that this not all together fresh or original. However, after reading the first book and part of the 2nd, I believed originally was never in the plans for this author. Definitely facfict in regards to catering to her would-be fans or fellow readers.

Btw, book #1 ends with a cliffhanger, so you will most likely be in for at least two, if you decide to delve in. Having said all that, there still must be a reason why this picky reader kept reading. Yes I concede, it wasn't all bad. So if your'e in between books and you're looking for a good no-thought sexy/romance read, this one might be for you. If you are looking for an accurate, well thought-out, fresh read, then you might what to look elsewhere.

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